Around My French Table

Spring dinner with "The Friendly Women"

Cookbook Supper Club with the Friendly Women of Evanston

Around My French Table
by Dorie Greenspan

Nicoise Olive Fougasse

First course
Cheesy creme brulee
Goat Cheese and Strawberry Tartine

Slow Roasted Tomatoes

Fougasse

Slow Roasted Tomatoes

Second Course
Grate Carrot Salad
White salad

Entrees
Short ribs in Port Wine
Celery Root Puree
Garlicky Broccoli

Slow roasted apples with a scoop of olive oil ice cream and a piece of salted butter break-ups.

Dessert
Long Slow Apples with Olive Oil ice cream
Salted Butter Breakups
Croquant cookies

Croquants with Hazelnuts

 Best of show:

Parmesan Creme brulee (not pictured)
Fougasse with the roasted tomatoes
Short Ribs over Celery Root puree (not pictured)
Olive Oil Ice Cream with Salted butter breakups

St. Paddy's favorites!

Bless my lucky charms - St. Paddy's day is this weekend! I wanted to share some perfect recipes for St. Patrick's day with enough time for you to make them!


Irish Soda Bread
I love the mix of sharp caraway seeds with all their herbaceous goodness, blended with soft golden raisins in a vehicle for good butter! This bread has been a tradition in our house since I was a little girl. As a child, irish soda bread wwas often formed into a snake shape with raisin eyes, sometimes tinted green. I make the loaves now but if you had little ones they might enjoy the snake shape. FYI St. Patrick chased the snakes out of Ireland http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick


http://eatthinkblogwoman.blogspot.com/2010/03/irish-soda-bread.html

Guiness Stout Pudding
This pudding is creamy and smooth - everything you want in a pudding with a hint of earthy goodness of Guiness. A layer of whipped cream on top makes it look like a pint glass of stout! Perfect served in a traditional pint glass - if you can eat a  pint of pudding! I just put it into a pretty glass.
http://eatthinkblogwoman.blogspot.com/2011/03/waiter-theres-beer-in-my-pudding.html

Best Corned Beef Ever!
If you never cared for corned beef before this may change you mind - my mother-in-law's corned beef glaze. My family loves this so much that I double this every year. It transforms boiled meat into something magical. I can't wait to make mine this weekend. I don't have a picture because I haven't made it yet this year but I wanted you to have the recipe in advance. 

Here's what I do:. I boil my corned beef the day before St. Pat's. I do mine in a pressure cooker but you could just follow the package directions. On the day I want to serve I take the beef out of the fridge. I trim any nasty bits off the corned beef, place it in an oven safe pan and bath it in the sauce. I place the dish in a 350 oven for about 40 minutes until the meat is hot. Halfway through if I notice some of the glaze is coming off I slather some more on. When hot, I remove the beef from the oven and place on a cutting board. I slice it in thin slices and platter it. I serve the remaining sauce on the side. And for some reason there is never any left over for sandwiches no matter how big a corned beef I do!


Ann's Corned beef with Glaze

Glaze:
10 tablespoons ketchup
6 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons vinegar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 tablespoons butter

5 pounds corned beef brisket
2 pounds potatoes
1 cabbage head

Melt butter. Add other glaze ingredients. Cook for 5 minutes on stove. 

Place 4 cups water and corned beef in pressure cooker. Add seasoning packet. Cook on high pressure for 65 minutes. Remove corn beef. Reserve liquid. Cook cabbage and potatoes in liquid on high for 6-7 minutes.

Let corned beef come to room temp. Pour glaze on cooked corn beef. Reserve some for table side. Bake for 40 minutes. Slice and serve.
NOTE: I am not a big fan of the cabbage and potatoes but my husband makes me do this. I think it is part of the Irish tradition to serve something boiled beyond recognition.